GAYLETTER

It was so good, you guys. I’m so obsessed with Pipilotti Rist after going to her exhibition at the New Museum, I’m amazed how much visual and mental stimulation I got so early in the morning — I’m not really a morning person. “Over the past thirty years, Rist (b. 1962) has achieved international renown as a pioneer of video art and multimedia installations. Her mesmerizing works envelop viewers in sensual, vibrantly colored kaleidoscopic projections that fuse the natural world with the technological sublime.” This exhibition takes over the three main floors of the museum. It’s the most comprehensive presentation of her work ever to take place in NYC, featuring 24 works. The show has been organized by Massimiliano Gioni, the museum’s artistic director, with Margot Norton and Helga Christoffersen. Rist even created an installation specifically for this presentation. All throughout the space are beds, pillows and couches where patrons are encouraged to lay down and view the incredible video projections. Even the underwear lamp (pictured) is mesmerizing. The whole show is truly wonderful, and very relaxing. You don’t need weed to enjoy it, but it certainly couldn’t hurt. Also, keep an eye out for one of her videos that might seem eerily familiar to the music video for Beyonce’s ‘Hold Up’ song from her last album. Clearly B was inspired by Rist’s work, and after seeing this show, we don’t blame her.  —t&a

We interviewed Roisin Murphy for the last issue of GAYLETTER Magazine. I got to speak with her over the phone, which was an absolute thrill, considering what a fan I am of her music. I was equally excited to learn that she is performing in NYC this week, but then bummed when I learned that tickets are sold out. As a consolation we should all head to C’mon Everybody on Saturday night. DJs Sean Hanna and Tad Haes will be spinning their “favorite Roisin songs” all night long in celebration of Roisin’s return to New York City after 8 years. There’s no guarantee that she’ll show up, but it would be a lovely surprise if she did. For all of you who are unfamiliar with the Irish singer/songwriter we suggest you pick up a copy of issue 5 of our magazine and learn some more about the talented Ms Murphy. She’s a great talker. Or you could just google her, google also works.  —tom

I guess we are back! Back partying that is. We were acting like old boring people for a few months, not hitting the bars as often, but Halloween got us in the mood. All it takes is a cheap wig and some heels to get us going. It’s nice to take break though, although I can tell you that we were not taking a break from drinking, we were busy, we were just being antisocial I guess. This Friday, Nov. 4, we (GAYLETTER) are co-hosting Powerhouse at Analog — which is an amazing venue to party at (pictured). It has a great sound system and great design. Last time I closed the place down, leaving at 6AM. This is the second installment of Powerhouse which was created by the guys from Xanadude (Sean B. + Deputy) and also Tad Haes from Occupy the Disco/Paradisco. Other people hosting with us are David John Sokolowski, Jason Roe, Matt Leiker, Samuel Cirenio Rodriguez-Burns, Terence Edgerson and Tanner Shea. Expect “visual stimulants” by Deputy — I love those. It’s on a Friday night, so you have no excuse to not come party with us, also it goes until 6:00AM! Thank god, ending a party at 4:00AM is soooo boring!  —Abi

The last time I went to the Bronx Zoo I had a shaved head. I know that because we took plenty of photos of the adventure, and I stumbled upon them the other day — fuck that was a long time ago. The Bronx Zoo is one of the best zoos not just in New York, but in the whole country. I have mixed feelings about zoos. On the one hand it is cruel to keep animals in captivity, but on the other hand, they are treated well there (unlike Seaworld), and learning about animals helps many people develop empathy for them which in turn means they are more inclined to be supportive of protecting in the wild. It’s a complicated thing, but in the long run I always feel that educating people always has the biggest pay off. Wednesdays are your chance to educate yourself about all the wonderful animals they have housed there (more than 6,000 over 265 acres). Every Wednesday the Zoo is FREE. That’s right, free! Hop on that 6 train and head up to the Bronx for a day at the Zoo. Lions and tigers and Madagascar Tree Boas, oh my!  —tom

Here we go again, another Halloween party where we gotta throw a wig on and a pair of high heels. I know Halloween is the most obvious excuse for a cis-gender man to dress up as a girl, or a drag queen, but c’mon, wearing heels is fun. It’s definitely more interesting than being a sexy masc superhero. Last year I said I won’t wear heels for that many hours again, but I guess as of now, that seems like the only option. I think Tom is trying to be Rihanna, but nothing is clear yet, it’s still too early to tell. Battle Hymn is going to be super lit this Sunday night. We are co-hosting, and we are not going to even pretend that we can compete with some of the looks that the queens are going to pull out. I mean, if we name just a few of the hosts in attendance this Sunday you’ll get a sense of the carry you can expect. First we must start with the main queen Ladyfag, then there’s Aquaria, Amanda Lepore, Desi Santiago, Viva Ruiz, Hector Xtravaganza, Epiphany and soooo many more. The costumes are going to come through. Music is by Eli Escobar, Honey Dijon, and The Carry Nation. Come early, and stay late. It’s a school night but you’re an adult, so live a little, and embrace “The Gospel according to the dancefloor.” says Ladyfag, yas!  —t&a

Last night I was looking at a photo we took with the pop star Robin at this event when they first did it, about four years ago. We debuted our first official GAYLETTER drag looks (which we created by screen-printing the word GAYLETTER across the chest of two cheap, short pleather dresses with some sort of mesh down the sides — the kinds of dresses that are supposed to be slutty if you have the right boobs and ass.) We bought it at this store called Runway on Canal St., I mean we still have the dresses, they are so trashy — real messes honey (pictured). I tell you this to give you an idea of how committed we were when we first went to this party at MoMA PS1, which was originally a drag ball theme, but is now a Halloween ball. If you know Susanne Bartsch, who’s organizing the event, then you’ll know that no matter what they call it, if she’s a part of it, it will always be a drag ball. Her crowd loves drag — and those bitches are creative. You are unlikely to see some looks from Runway...My advice is to step it up if you are going to this one. “This year’s timely theme ‘The White House of Horror’ features live performances, DJs, dancing, and the most artistic costumes in town.” There are so many people involved I have to keep the list short, but it includes BCALLA, Klaus Biesenbach, Kenny Kenny, Kevin Aviance, Macy Rodman, Aquaria, Scooter LaForge, Ryan McNamara, Kembra Pfahler, Eckhaus Latta and many more. Music for the night is by Amber Valentine,Valissa Yoe, W Jeremy and Occupy the Disco. This one will be epic!  —Abi

This week is super lit. It’s not only Halloween, but there’s some interesting openings happening, like this one. The space formerly known as the Spectrum is reopening as the Dreamhouse. This is a queer space we should all get behind. When it was the Spectrum, they did some awesome, nuts parties there. We have no doubt this will continue under their new incarnation. The organizers are asking us to dress as dolls for their grand opening. Here’s what they have to say: “It’s Halloween grl, so be a doll of any sort. Scary doll, dead doll, muscle doll, ghost doll, gay doll, sex doll, monster high doll, Bratz doll, fuck doll, cray doll, ken doll.” I love this theme! Music for the night is by Abyss X, A Village Raid, Butched, Telfar. Some of the hosts include Casey Spooner, Forrest Wu, Melisa Burns, and more. There’s also live music by Lafawndah and Jelos Orgasm aka Joe plus performances by Mimi Isavirus, Gage of the Boone and Davon Rainey. Support The Dreamhouse and be generous with your donations at the door. Happy Halloween dolls!  —tom